mardi 23 septembre 2008

Serpens 5

α, 3, pale yellow.Unuk ( Although errors in the adoption of Arabic star-names into our popular lists are common, indeed almost universal, this Unuk is peculiarly wrong, for ʽUnūḳ is the plural of ʽUnḳ. ) al Hay, — or Unukalhai, — is from ʽUnḳ al Ḥayyah, the Neck of the Snake, the later Arabic name for this star; the Uunk al Hay of the Standard Dictionary is erroneous, — a type error perhaps for Unuk. It was also Alioth, Alyah, and Alyat, often considered as terms for the broad and fat tail of the Eastern sheep that may have been at some early day figured here in the Orientals' sky; but we know nothing of this, and these are not Arabic words, so that their origin in Al Ḥayyah of the constellation is more probable. Smyth somewhat indefinitely states that Alangue and Ras Alangue appear in the Alfonsine Tables, presumably for this star.α may have been the lucidus anguis of Ovid and Vergil, as it certainly was the Cor Serpentis of astrology.With λ it was known as Shuh of certain territory in China; and Edkins rather unsatisfactorily writes:The twenty-two stars in the Serpent are named after the states into which China was formerly divided.As their radiant point it has given name to the Alpha Serpentids of the 15th of February.It is of Secchi's 2d type of spectra, and receding from us about 14 miles a second. It culminates on the 28th of July; and a 12th‑magnitude blue companion is 58ʺ distant.

β, Double, 3 and 9.2, both pale blue.This was Chow with the Chinese, the title of one of their imperial dynasties; but it does not seem to have been named by any other nation. The components are 30ʺ.6 apart, at a position angle of 265°.Near it is the radiant point of the Beta Serpentids, a minor stream of meteors visible from the 18th to the 20th of April.γ, a 4th‑magnitude, was Ching, and δ, Tsin, in Chinese lists.This last, a white and bluish 4th- and 5th‑magnitude double, was first noted as a binary by Sir William Herschel. The components are 3ʺ.6 apart, with a position angle at present of about 185°.ε, of 3.7 magnitude, was Pa, the name of a certain territory in China.ζ, a 4 1/2‑magnitude, and η were Tung Hae, the heavenly Eastern Sea of that country; the latter star being a golden-yellow 3.3‑magnitude with a small, pale lilac companion.

θ, Binary and perhaps slightly variable, 4 and 4.5, pale yellow and gold yellow.Alya, of the Palermo Catalogue and others (sometimes, but erroneously, Alga), probably is from the same source as the similar title of the lucida.The Chinese knew it as Sen, one of their districts.It is the terminal star in the Serpent; and lies southwest of Aquila, in a comparatively starless region between the two branches of the Milky Way. The components are 21ʺ apart, at a position angle of 104°.ξ, 3.7, on the lower part of the body, was Nan Hae, the Southern Sea; and ν, 5.3, on the back of the head, was Cha Sze, a Carriage-shop.